⚠️Important Alpha Information⚠️

As an alpha release, this build is not yet considered stable.

This prerelease is intended for users to test upcoming features, allowing the community to provide feedback before they are distributed in a stable release.
Users interested in testing bleeding-edge software are encouraged to test out this build to help us catch any issues we may have missed during development.

If you are unwilling to tolerate potential issues, it may be better to wait for the next stable release.

This changelog is relative to the prior 2125.0-alpha2 changelog. You can view that changelog here.

Azahar 2125.0-alpha3 Changelog

libretro

• Azahar is now available as libretro/RetroArch cores for various OS platforms. | @warmenhoven #1215 + other PRs
  • Below is a list of platforms with available cores in this initial release:
    • Linux (x86_64)
    • Windows (x86_64)
    • macOS (arm64)
    • macOS (x86_64)
    • Android (arm64)
    • iOS
    • tvOS
  • Other platforms and architectures may be added in subsequent releases.
  • It's important to note that, due to restrictions around the use of JIT compilation on the App Store, the iOS and tvOS have JIT forcefully disabled by default* on those platforms. Disabling JIT has a big impact on performance, so emulation speed may be below 100% on devices other than those which have been released relatively recently.
    • * For more information, read here: https://docs.libretro.com/guides/install-ios/#jit
  • When 2125.0 is fully released, the Azahar core will be available via the RetroArch core downloader and as a built-in core on iOS and tvOS.

All

• Greatly reduced CPU usage of Azahar while using Artic Base. | @keynote #1789
• Shader and pipeline compilation tasks are now handled by separate workers, improving parallelism and slightly reducing shader compilation stutter. | @PabloMK7 #1802
• Fixed an issue with the previously introduced Vulkan shader disk cache where transferring the cache between devices could cause graphical issues. | @PabloMK7 #1770
• Fixed unnecessary file IO spam while reading from Vulkan shader disk cache. | @PabloMK7 #1774
• Very minor optimization for log message filtering, effective when a large number of LOG_DEBUG messages are produced in a short time-frame. | @PabloMK7 #1773
• Added HLE implementation for Download Play (DLP) client. | @lannoene #1741
  • The DLP LLE module is no longer required to connect to Download Play sessions.
  • The LLE module is still required in order to host Download Play sessions.
• Implemented new "Integer Scaling" option. @DavidRGriswold #1400
• Added a new "Layouts to Cycle" setting, which allows users to select which layouts are cycled by the Cycle Layout/Toggle Layout hotkey. | @DavidRGriswold #1430
• Apply the selected texture filter to color surfaces, not just texture surfaces. | @PabloMK7 #1784
• Major refactor of configuration backend for all platforms, improving maintainability | @OpenSauce04 #1762
  • This change is primarily a developer-facing one, but does somewhat affect end-users on Android by having the default config.ini file be dynamically generated and validated, meaning that keys which were missing in the default config file are now present. | @OpenSauce04 #1762

Android

• Added a new "Hotkey Enable" button bind. This button can be used in button combinations to activate hotkeys. | #1464
  • See the linked PR for a more detailed explanation.
• Added new "Auto-Map Controller" button which functions similarly to its desktop equivalent. | @RJNY #1769
• The drawer menu now always uses the layout appropriate for the current device orientation. | @DavidRGriswold #1473

macOS

• Fixed a possible UI freeze during game list population. | @TeamPuzel #1785

Windows

• Explicitly tell AMD drivers to use the dedicated GPU by default if an integrated GPU is available. | @RedBlackAka #1783

Technical

• Intel macOS binaries are now built using macOS 26 + Xcode 26. | @OpenSauce04 #1803
• Refactor and fix a resource leak in the Vulkan texture runtime. | @PabloMK7 #1790
  • This change is for correctness, and has no real effect on end-users.